


A Helping Paw

by Okami_no_fude



Series: We fucked up and made a super hero au [13]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: A Sassy Boi, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Poor puppies, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Service Dogs, Set way after fight with Majora, Some Humor, Time joins him, Twilight interrogating service dogs, mentions of disassociation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2020-10-24 11:57:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20705618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Okami_no_fude/pseuds/Okami_no_fude
Summary: The family decided to get a service dog for Wild.This service dog is a sassy, fiery one.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, in the LU discord, recently this particular superhero AU has been a train wreck of angst stories that had many of us in tears, and some asked for fluff to let us recover. I decided to take up that request and write a fluffy, comforting story about a certain new family member we had in the works for a while, but it was never introduced here on AO3.  
Enjoy!  
This story is set in late July, at the beginning of Wild's and Legend's sophomore (2nd) year, may be better to read [Was it a Dream?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20369101/chapters/48304861) first, but can be read alone.

"A Service dog?"

Twilight's mom nodded. "Yes, we are planning to get a PTSD service dog. We've noticed that Wild gets a lot calmer when you are there to help him in Wolf form, but we can't allow you to keep doing that all the time. No Twilight," Malon shut Twilight up as he was about to protest that he was okay in continuing to do it. "You have your own responsibilities to do as well, and you have your own life too! Both of us don't want you to feel tied to him every moment of your day. The therapist your dad sees often had suggested a place that keeps strict confidentiality for Supers, and they were able to connect us to the place since Wild is also the child of your father. We were going to the facility with Wild so he can get some interviews done to allow the trainers to match him with an able service dog."

Twilight understood what his mom was saying. He could see that Wild did need professional medical help for his PTSD. Twilight was at first very scared when he saw his brother fall into a violent panic attack and he did not really know what to do. However remembering that he responded well in his wolf form, he began to stay more and more in his wolf form to help him out, to the point that he started to not have any free time for himself. But honestly, he did not mind. He was  _ very _ protective of his brother ever since they had found him in that dark room, shivering in fear of that  _ bi- _

"Twilight! Language!" Malon scolded.

Oops, did he say that out loud?

Twilight gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry, mom." 

He pondered on his mother's words about getting a service dog. He did see the pros about having a service dog, since what he learned from videos were rather limited for him to actually help his brother like a service dog, and it also ate at his own studying time. 

But the wolf inside him was rather reluctant at this idea. 

Like his father, he also had the pack mentality when he was a wolf and tended to be aggressive toward other dogs in the vicinity. 

He was conflicted. 

But since his mom said that both her and Dad decided it, that means that had agreed in taking a service dog for Wild. 

That also meant that he should swallow his reluctance if he truly wanted to help Wild recover.

Twilight made the decision.

"Take me with you guys."

He plowed on when he saw his mom tilting her head in confusion. "I want to make sure that Wild gets the best service dog that this place has to offer."

Malon blinked a few times at his very passionate tone before she gave a smile.

"Alright then, we are going this Saturday, be sure to keep your schedule clear. I'll talk to your brothers this afternoon."

\---

On that bright Saturday morning, Twilight was sitting in the back seat along with Legend and Wild, going to the service dog training center so they could find the service dog that would be able to help Wild out. Legend was going to stay with Wild for emotional support, and Twilight had also said he would be there with Wild, but he had a separate mission in mind.

To interview the candidate dogs.

After listening to the trainers on how they were going to chose the dog that would fit for Wild's situation and they were shown where the service dog trainees were (as they had yet to fully graduate due to the fact that they do individualized training sessions at the last stretch so they could truly help each individual client's needs), they were shown where the candidates for Wild were at. 

Out in the field patiently waiting.

When Mom and Legend went with Wild so the therapists and trainers could assess his severity of PTSD, he slyly slipped into the field where there were five large dogs sitting patiently out in the lawn, and he swiftly shifted into a wolf. 

The dogs turned their heads toward him as he turned into a wolf, but they did not bark out in surprise. They merely tilted their heads.

So far he could see that these canines were tough to crack.

He quietly padded toward the first victi- no candidate, a pitch-black Labrador retriever.

_ "you, what is your name?" _ he barked out.

_ "Midnight, Sir. May I ask yours?" _

_ "Just call me Twilight for now. I have some questions I need to ask you..." _

_ The Lab tilted his head. "uh, certainly?" he looked a bit lost as to why a wolf that was a human just earlier wanted to ask him questions.  _

_ "How long have you been training in this program?" _

_ "About 14 moon cycles sir." _

_ "How old are you?" _

_ "16 moon cycles, sir."  _

_ "Have you ever had trouble with the others before?" _

_ "Sir, I don't see why you need that infor-" _

_ Twilight let out a low growl, slightly raising his hackles to show his glinting sharp teeth. _

_ The Lab lowered his head in submission. "...Yes Sir...." _

  
  


\---

Time had noticed that Twilight was missing when the family had left the grassy field where they were shown the candidate dogs for Wild to continue his assessment before they could match him with a suitable service dog. He volunteered to go looking for him as the three other family members continued to the office.

He went back to the field. 

What he found in that field was a curious sight. 

Out of the five dogs that were out there, the Labrador and the Doberman were slumping on the grass, tail completely still and ears pinned downwards, looking a bit shook. 

Time brought his gaze to the middle of the field. 

His son Twilight was in wolf form, giving out short barks and low growls to a young golden retriever, which seemed to hunch its shoulders little by little.

He approached his son and called out.

"Hey Twilight, what are you doing here?" 

An ear flickered toward the man, indicating that his son had heard him, but he continued to growl at the Golden retriever, who began to shake ever so slightly.

He was being ignored.

Time got a little concerned (but also curious) at what his son was saying to the young pup, and he shifted.

_ "Hey Dad,"  _ his son greeted him with a side-eye, before staring back at the golden retriever. 

_ "What in the world are you doing son?"  _ he barked out as he shook his golden fur. 

_ “I'm interviewing them directly. While the trainers may say they are the best candidates here, I need to get firsthand information and impressions. They also need to be able to work with us two in the house as well,"  _ Twilight growled out.

The Golden wolf blinked. His son had a point.

Time sat down next to his son and joined in the interview, jumping in to ask questions from time to time when Twilight got a little too trigger happy with subtle scare techniques and wasn't asking the questions.

At that point when they walked away to see the next candidate, the (poor) golden retriever was laying its head down on the grass, paws hiding its eyes.

\---

They were already at the last dog, and Twilight was in a disappointed mood. Behind the 2 wolves were 4 dogs, some just bowing their heads down and some whimpering. He will give them some credit as they did stay where they were originally, so their training was the real deal at the very least. 

They just did not have the strength and courage he was looking for. 

He looked at the last dog, a longhaired German Shepard, who was staring at them in a calm, almost nonchalant position. 

Twilight tilted his head slightly. This dog was the most chill dog he had met yet, even when he had witnessed his fellow candidates being reduced to whimpers before him.

_ "Hello, wolf shifters." _ it let out a soft but deep bark as they padded up towards the german shepherd.

This time, the elder of the two started the  <strike> interrogation </strike> interview.

_ "May I ask for your name?" _

_ "Ask him." _

Twilight was confused. Ask who? He swiveled his head around to see if anyone was around besides them.

There were none.

_ “Answer dad’s question, what is your name,”  _ Twilight growled out. 

The German shepherd let out a small chuff.  _ “I did.” _

What.

The German shepherd looked straight into his eyes, as he continued in a nonchalant tone.  _ "You just took it wrong, its  _ _ Askim _ _ , not  _ _ ask・him _ _ . And should you not be giving your name first before you ask the name of others?" _

_ 'Oh wow, this dog is as sassy as Legend,'  _ he thought as his eye twitched. 

His father coughed a little before regaining composure.  _ "My apologies, I go by Time and this is my son, he goes by Twilight. We need to ask you some questions regarding you and the training, and whether you would be a fit for one of my sons." _

The sassy german shepherd let out another small chuff.  _ " I am happy to answer any of your questions, but you do know ultimately its not your choice who goes with your son, don't you? The trainers assign which dog goes with the person." _

Twilight growled out.  _ "There is always a first for everything. When there is a will, there is a way." _

Askim's gums lifted up to show his white teeth.  _ "Good point." _

_ "So, what do you want to ask?" _

_ "Your current age and the age when you started training." _

_ "Oh, I started when I was about 9 or 10 moon cycles in, currently 17 moon cycles of age," _ Askim answered, slowly waving his tail back and forth in a lazy manner.

His father tilted his head.  _ "You started your training rather late compared to the others..." _

_ "Yep," _ Askim barked, head held a little higher as if he was proud.  _ "I'm different from the others, I was first raised in a foster home for puppies training to be service dogs to learn basic discipline there, then I came here to train, breezed through the training course in 8 moon cycles, and now here I am, being interviewed by two wolves. What an interesting life I have so far." _

Twilight was a bit interested. Was this the reason why he was not intimidated by them and their questions? Because he was raised in a foster home first?

Time continued his questioning.  _ "The next thing I need to ask is how is your reaction time to panic attacks?" _

_ "That differs with different people, everyone reacts in such different ways. How does your son act?" _ the dog questioned back.

Time was a little startled, but he answered.  _ "He reacts in different ways, sometimes just huddling in a corner, or he lashes out suddenly. There are triggers, such as someone touching his hair. He accidentally hurt one of his best friends once, and it took a while for us to help him snap out." _

The German shepherd suddenly shifted his stance, his tail stopped lazily wagging, and his ears went straight. He looked...serious now, completely different compared to what he was like moments ago. 

_ "That sounds like extreme PTSD. What was he like before you decided he needed one of us?" _

Twilight's ears drooped as he bit out a whine.  _ "He was...more energetic, more happy, more...carefree...Now he can rarely go out without one of his family members or his close group of friends...I shift into this wolf form to help him ground himself, but I can't always prevent his panic attacks in time, nor am I always there...and if I'm not there he would panic and lash out and possibly hurt someone, and I don't want him to experience guilt, he's already had a hard time-" _

Twilight abruptly stopped when he felt a nudge to his flank.

It wasn't his dad that was putting pressure on his side.

It was Askim.

_ Hey, hey, breath. Take deep breaths. You were already on the verge of an anxiety attack yourself," _ the German shepherd let out a soft woof.  _ "You must have been stressed out as well, all of you,”  _ Askim spoke softly, looking at his father as Twilight slowly did some breathing exercises to calm down. 

Time gave him a look of amazement when the german shepherd Askim had quickly went to his son's side and did the deep pressure therapy that he had heard of. This dog who they had just met was able to recognize how upset his son was becoming and took immediate action before even he could sense it. 

_ "It's interesting, calming down a human with not only pressure but also with words, " _ Askim mused out as he slowly made his way back to his former position as he sensed Twilight calming down. 

_ "Today is a really interesting experience," _ the German shepherd let out a small bark of laughter before looking the golden wolf in the eye, his black eyes gleaming intensely with a fire he had never seen in dogs before. 

_ "Did my demonstration answer your question?" _

Time slowly nodded.

Askim looked intensely at him for a few more seconds before his serious look was replaced with a somewhat smug smirk.  _ "Good." _

Twilight was impressed with this dog. This was someone who he could entrust his younger brother to help him with panic attacks, but also showed his ground and was not intimidated by them either. Now he was really curious who had been his foster family before he started his training.

_ "Askim, may I ask a question out of curiosity?" _

_ "You just did." _

Twilight ignored that little snark and continued on.  _ "Who was the foster family you were living with?" _

_ "My foster family? I don't know why you want to know, but it was-" _

"Boys! What are you doing!!"

Both father and son wolves spun their heads toward the familiar female voice, but they were too late to react any further as a fierce red-haired woman grabbed them by their ears rather hard.

"Why are you two here? You were supposed to be with Wild, Twilight, and you dear was supposed to fetch him and bring him back! Why did you join him and traumatize the poor service dogs?!" Malon scolded them as she dragged both wolves back toward the building, both of them yelping and whining all the while.

Askim stared at the strange sight of two big wolves being dragged by their ear by a rather small woman, before letting out a small woof.

_ "Well, I certainly had an interesting day today. I like them." _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for mentions of disassociation, anxiety and panic attacks, and symptoms of PTSD

Askim was not so surprised with what had transpired earlier when he was the one that was chosen to be the service dog for the newest client. Even their trainers saw how shook his fellow candidates were after that interesting interview with what seemed to be the family members of the client, now his soon-to-be partner. While he knew this was serious business and he had to be able to work and gain the trust of his new partner, he couldn't really help but feel excited to be able to work with someone who's family members were...eccentric, judging by the fact that two of them could shape-shift into wolves and the woman who dragged both of those huge wolves by their ears without too much trouble. 

He was sure the others did not have the confidence to be able to perform their duty without dying early from stress themselves.

He was looking forward to the challenge.

When he was led into the room where his future partner and his family was, there were two human beings there he hadn't seen at the field, a teen with short blond hair and another with long red hair. Askim could immediately tell who was the one he was to be partnered with. 

He could tell by his senses, the whole family radiated protectiveness toward the red-haired male teen who currently had tense shoulders, and the slight fear he could smell.

This was his future partner that he was to care for and support, this teen that currently seemed no more than a small, scared child.

His instincts were screaming at him to just walk over him and give him a nudge right then and there, but Askim held his ground as he knew from his training that his future partner should be the one to initiate the first contact, to let  _ him _ start building that bridge of trust.

"This is Askim, Mr. Wild" he heard his handler say to the young teen, now named Wild. "He is 17 months old, almost 18, and he has been an excellent service dog trainee. We believe he would be the best match for you and your family's...situation."

_ "I bet those 2 wolf shifters had a hand in the choice" _ he let out a small, inaudible chuff as he stared at the now-human wolf shifters. They were leaking of the protectiveness that was unique to wolf packs, and the two wolf shifter's pack was the rest of their family, including his future partner. 

No wonder they were so hard on them, they were looking for the one that they deemed okay to include in their pack.

Askim snapped back to attention as Wild slowly approached him. 

"...He-hello, Askim..." His future partner whispered softly, reaching his hand out toward his head. Askim could smell some apprehension from him, but he understood that this was big for Wild. He patiently waited for his future partner to rest his hand softly between his ears. Slowly, Askim leaned into the touch of the young teen as he patted on his soft fur coat, gauging his reaction. It was visible to Askim that Wild was getting calmer and more used to him being near his side, which was a good sign.

Askim began to lean into Wild's hand a bit more and inched closer to him. Staring at the red-haired teen's deep blue eyes, the German Shephard could see a small spark of excitement. Feeling a bit courageous, Askim booped his nose to Wild's arm to watch his reaction. 

A hint of a smile could be seen tugging on the young, scarred teen's face.

Askim gave a small smile of his own. This was a precious boy whose' smile he needed and wanted to protect. 

He would not let down his partner or his partner's family, on his pride and honor as a service dog.

\---

With it being officially decided, Askim knew he had to go through a few more training sessions with his partner, as he could tell that he needed to know a lot about Wild, and what his triggers were.

And he was quite appalled and concerned at how many triggers there were. 

Couldn't enter into a new room by himself, hated enclosed spaces with the door shut, too many people that were not his close family... those were understandable and commonly seen. Askim was trained for it.

But someone touching his hair being a trigger... Wild's actual name is a trigger (Twilight told him this information later in private that all of the males of the family's true name was Link. Twilight also mentioned something about legally changing Wild's name or something, but he could not understand much about human law and politics). 

His partner must have experienced something horrible that no one should, and at such a young age. Usually, his fellow service dogs were paired up with far older humans with unique powers. But his partner was not even out of his puppy stage!

As the extra month of training went on, Askim began to understand more and more of Wild's triggers, and he was more prepared for interfering before a panic attack could happen. 

Whenever they were going to walk into a new room, Askim walked in first and scanned around the room before signaling with a tail wag that everything was clear. 

Whenever he spied his partner's blue eyes peering seemingly something far away or agitation was leaking out, he firmly nuzzled against his leg or chest and licking his hand to ground him to the present, and whenever there was shortness of breath and he could smell the fear that was starting to bubble underneath, Askim removed him from the environment as soon as possible.

His training also extended to getting to know Wild's trusted friends and family.

The other boy that was with him, that smelled somewhat of...concrete and paint? was the middle brother Legend, and he instantly liked his attitude as it could rival his.

Malon, the only female of the family, was a sweet mother, but Askim was not fooled at how protective the red-haired woman could be. Females can be much more fierce than males would be, and she was no exception. 

Another fierce female that he was introduced was Time's hero partner. Sheik. She had a mysterious air to her that initially made Askim wary, but seeing how his partner had greeted her with a big smile made him relax his stance around her.

Then there was Hyrule (apparently also a nickname due to sharing the same real name), Wild's best friend that smelled of a mixture of the elements; someone who he always got into some sort of shenanigans with. He did not interfere unless it led to an anxiety or panic attack, his boy needed to have some fun.

Wild's human partner Zelda, or Flora, seemed to be a little insecure about something (he could smell it), but Askim knew she was doing all she can to support his boy. 

There were also Warriors (a Link), Dusk (a Zelda), Sky (a Link), Sun (a Zelda)...

Why were there so many Links and Zeldas in his partner's group of trusted people?

Weirdness aside, Askim was able to greet Wild's main clique and the broader group of friends, and this gave him some reassurance that anywhere they went, there would be at least someone nearby that would help Askim let the outsiders know that they were not to approach Wild when his partner experiences severe panic attacks, something he was expecting to occur pretty often. 

There were some disassociations here and anxiety attacks there when they were in the training phase, but Askim was able to lead Wild away from the situation and ground him to the present right away. This made his handler deem him ready to graduate as a fully-fledged service dog a bit ahead of schedule. 

His partner shared Askim's excitement that day, smiling wildly as his partner nuzzled his nose into his.

Askim was glad in the short amount of time they had been together they had forged a bond of trust.

He was determined to keep that trust and make it stronger.

Askim's vow was tested a few weeks in when the school session started.

\---

The air was beginning to feel a little bit chilly, and Askim knew that also meant that there would be people who would fall ill around this season, and lo and behold he was correct in his assumption. 

His partner's best friend Hyrule had not met them at the gates of the school when he had separated from his family. Instead, they met his elder sister Dawn who had let them know that Hyrule was sick and as such could not join Wild today in classes.

Askim licked Wild's hand, smelling his anxiety when they went down the hallway without his best friend. The german shepherd wanted to assure his partner that he had his back. 

A hand scratched his head a few moments after he had licked his hand. "Thank you Askim," Wild whispered as they stopped in front of his locker to get his supplies.

The German Shepherd dutifully kept an eye around their surroundings, observing the passing people giving curious glances toward them. 

It wasn't as bad as the beginning of the school year, when the school populace had not known that there would be a service dog walking down the school grounds, and a bunch of people had stared at them, approach them in hopes of petting Askim, and on several occasions there were people telling Wild that pets were not allowed on the school grounds (he remembers quite fondly how Legend had roasted them, asking them if they were blind to not see the words 'service dog - not a pet' on his blue vest). 

Since it was a few weeks in, the novelty wore off, and most of the school populace accepted the concept that there would be a service dog walking around with Wild.

\---

The first half of the day went by without too much trouble, in which Askim was quite grateful of, since even if the whole school had been briefly explained of the circumstances of why the German Shepherd was there, there were still some nosy people who liked to poke their faces when it was none of their business.

When the pair had walked into their last classroom, Askim could sense something was different than usual. He sniffed the air as walked into the room first like he always does. 

The person who was in front near the board was someone he has not smelt before. He lifted his nose a bit more to gauge whether it was a threat to his partner.

They had no smell of hostility.

"Askim, what's wrong?" 

The German Shepherd flicked his ear as Wild spoke, peering into the classroom to see what was making him a little apprehensive.

"...oh, it's a substitute teacher..." Askim heard his partner say. "I think it's alright Askim, let's get to our seat." Askim followed the tug of his leash, but he kept giving glances at the raven-haired female in the front, who was giving them a curious look.

They sat at their usual seat, at the very back of the aisle right next to the door (as they were given accommodations), and patiently waited for the class to start.

"Hello class, I'm Faina Verity. As Mrs. Smith is absent today due to a cold, I will be your substitute teacher today," she spoke in a strong voice that everyone could hear. "Alright, for today's home economics class..."

Askim tuned the female's voice out as he looked around the classroom. He had to be a bit more vigilant today as he did not recognize most of the people around him, except for one tall, red-haired male who was sitting right next to Wild. A rustle of papers could be heard as he saw sheets being passed down. "Great, it's more papers," he could hear Wild groan under his breath as he took the last one, but set down to work.

The scratching of pens on paper, quiet flipping of pages and the occasional whispers could be heard in the classroom, with the teacher calling out to them when the students got a little too loud (his partner was one of them, sadly). Thankfully it did not raise his partner's anxiety levels or anything, so he did not worry too much about it. 

He gave a glance toward Wild when he sensed his seat moving slightly. 

It seemed that Wild was scootching toward the red-haired male (he thinks his name was Sidon?), and snorting out loud when Sidon had shown him something. 

"Mister Link Forrester! Mister Sidon Zora! Would you care to share what was funny to the class?" 

Askim sprung up as soon as he heard that taboo name, but he was too late to intervene.

The German Shepherd could smell the fear spike up, the worrisome shortness of breath, and the racing heartbeat. He quickly gave him a hard press on Wild's chest, but Wild already had his hands to his ears, pupils dilated and face pale white. 

He ignored Sidon yelling at the substitute to stop using his partner's taboo name while he tried to lick his hands and firmly nudge his chest to help him ground himself.

It wasn't working.

And the nosy students that were slowly starting to crowd them was not helping either.

He quickly stepped off of his shaking partner, took off the emergency phone that was strapped to his vest, then started circling around Wild in a wide area, giving him some space, and warning off anyone who was not among Wild's trusted group that came closer than Askim was comfortable of by standing between them.

Once he was sure that they got the message, he handed the emergency phone to a worried but confused Sidon, before pulling one of the strings on his vest, triggering a voice message. 

"My owner needs help, please call emergency contact on the phone," a female voice rang out.

The confusion on the red-haired male's face disappeared as he pressed the button to activate the phone. 

Leaving the task to the tall male, Askim went back to where Wild was, who was scrunched up in his seat and shaking so hard that he thought that the chair would break. The German Shepherd kept alternating between nudging Wild chest and licking his hand with keeping the space around him clear of anyone, trying his best to interrupt Wild's panic attack.

Slowly he could hear Wild's breathing starting to be less erratic as he continued to nudge him when he heard thundering footsteps down the hall. 

"Wild!!" 

It was Twilight.

Askim let Twilight control the situation at hand with the bystanders as he continued to coax his partner out of the panic attack. It seemed that his brother's call of his name seemed to have helped Wild get a grip of the present, and his shaking slowly calmed down into small shivers, and deeper breaths were taken. 

"Wild? You are safe. Your brother his here Wild, and Askim as well," the German shepherd heard Twilight say from behind him. 

Wild let out a shuddering breath as he slowly raised his head up. 

"T-twi? A-Askim?" Wild croaked.

"Yes, we are both here. Is there anything you need right now?"

"Ou-outside..."

Twilight nodded. "Alright, let's get you outside. Is it okay if I touch you now?"

His quivering partner gave a small nod of assent and clung to his brother like a lifeline as they slowly exited the room. Askim took a brief moment to look back at Sidon who was still standing there and gave him a nod. 

_ Thank you. _

\---

Once outside and at the school lawn, they all sat down in the shade of the tree as Wild was letting out a few hiccups while grabbing both Twilight's shirt sleeve and his fur coat in a death grip. Askim did not care about it too much, as he knew his partner needed it. He was still somewhat remorseful that he was not able to intervene before the panic attack got too bad. It was so...sudden. 

"Thank you Askim."

The German shepherd flickered his ears at Twilight's gratitude. Why was he thanked? He had boasted that he was able to detect and intervene panic attacks before it got out of hand when he was chosen, and yet he couldn't do what he said. It showed him that his skills were insufficient to help.

Twilight must have read what Askim was thinking with that tilted head, as the eldest Forrester gave him a stern look. 

"While it may have developed into a severe one, you still managed to give him a wide berth and contact me, and I could see that you were along the way to ground Wild back in reality. You did a really good job, so do not doubt yourself, if that's what you are thinking about."

"Y-yeah Askim, I'm grateful of h-how you helped m-me." Wild whispered. Askim felt the death grip on his fur coat on his back disappear for him to be wrapped by both of Wild's arms, his face being nuzzled. "Thank you so much." 

Askim stared at both Wild and Twilight for a bit, before letting out a small bark.

_ Thank you guys. I will continue to strive to be the best service dog you could ever have, Partner. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was really enjoyable to write since it prompted me to learn a little bit more on service dogs for people with PTSD (since I want to write it as realistically as possible), and writing through an animal's point of view was also quite challenging as well!  
I don't know if there will be any more fics pertaining Askim, but let's hope so, since I actually love writing him <3


	3. Chirstmas Special: A Hylian's Best Partner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Askim joined the holiday celebrations in the Forrester household.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Marie at the Sky High AU discord server, as a secret santa gift.

_ “You want me to what?” _

The new addition to the Forrester family, the German Shepherd service dog Askim tilted his head at the golden wolf in front of him.    
  
The Alpha of the pack and his mate; the parents of his partner was sitting on the couch (or on the floor in front of the couch in Time’s case) across where he had been taking a snooze until now. 

Askim had been a bit nervous when the golden-furred wolf had walked up to him, Malon at his flank, and had spoken that they wanted to talk. He had tensed up by those words. Did he do something wrong? Were his abilities as a service dog lacking in their eyes?    
So many worries were going through his head all at once before they started talking.   
  
Now he was just a bit dumbfounded.

The Alpha gave him a straight look.  _ “You heard what we said.” _ _   
  
_

_ “But I am a service dog?! Not an actor, nor a cosplayer?! This is rather unprofessional!” _ _   
_ _ “But don’t service dogs help bring joy to their assigned partners?” _ _   
_ _ “Yes, but-” _ _   
_ _ “Won’t you agree that the children, including Wild, would be happy if we bring them the holiday cheer in such a way?” _

_   
_ Askim gave Time another slow blink. Yes, he did witness many children being very happy and exclaiming the dogs in that particular outfit to be very cute that one time when the family went to a park to see some kind of light show.

He agreed that his partner would enjoy seeing him in  _ that. _

But his pride as being an excellent, disciplined service dog…

  
“I don’t know what you are exactly saying Askim,” Malon spoke, “but I think to give them the opportunity to enjoy the surprise that is Christmas would be good for the children; letting them be children again.”   
Malon gave Askim such a hopeful look with that statement, it made his will crumble like the dog biscuits Wild sometimes gave to him.

  
_ “All right, I’ll do it. Making my partner smile is in my job description, after all,”  _ Askim gave a small affirmative bark to Malon.   
The matriarch of the family gave a glance toward her currently-furry-husband, who nodded his head in an exaggerated manner to express Askim’s agreement.   
Malon gave a soft smile. “Thank you so much Askim, I know that they would enjoy this!”   
  
  


The golden wolf gave him a rather mischievous look. 

Askim wasn’t sure what that look meant, but it was a smug one as if the Alpha had won an argument or something. Slight irritation took ahold of him.

He was not going to completely do every bidding and give the Alpha the satisfaction without something in return.

_ “On one condition though!” _

_ “Oh?”  _ Time tilted his head.  _ “Name it.” _

\---

It was Christmas Eve, and the Forresters were enjoying a Christmas dinner that Malon and Wild spent so much time preparing, and a surprise dessert that the matriarch secretly made, which was a delicious strawberry shortcake. When the eldest Forrester started to stand to help out clearing the dessert dishes, Malon gently told him to sit down as there was one more surprise they had. 

The boys were a little confused when their dad had pulled out a camera recorder, but they soon figured out why.   
  


A certain dog, now sporting small silver bells, a pair of antlers and a bright red ball for a nose came trotting through the door, pulling a small sleigh with presents. 

Wild’s service dog looked a little silly, dressing up as the famous lead reindeer of Father Christmas, but at the same time, it was very cute in Wild’s eyes. When the red-haired teen crouched down to pet and scratch his partner’s ears to thank him for bringing the gifts, he saw a rather small gift-wrapped box being held between Askim’s teeth.

  
“What’s this Askim?” Wild asked as he took the small box from the dog’s jaws. 

Malon gave a small smile. “It’s a gift to you from Askim personally. He did ask of us to help with this in exchange for playing this part of the small surprise.”

Wild carefully unwrapped the present box and opened it.    
Slowly, the teen pulled out a keychain from the tiny box.

Dangling from the black string, there was a pendant that had an imprint.

Wild silently traced the indentation that was in the shape of a dog’s paw print, giving glances at Askim’s paws. 

“Is this... what I think it is?” Wild breathed out softly.

Time gave a small smile.

“Askim had asked us to make something that had a part of him, and we eventually settled on making a plaster cast of his paw print into a pendant.”

“I told Askim that he did not need to do such a thing when he already gives so much, but he was stubborn and wanted to ‘give something extra special to his partner’,” Malon explained further. “Flip it, there is something else he wanted you to know.”

Doing as she suggested, the teen flipped it over to see a small picture and some writing. His face slowly morphed into a smile, thumbing the picture of him and Askim touching their foreheads together, the words “Best Friends and Partners” written just below.

Wild slowly raised his head and rested his gaze on the dressed-up service dog. 

In one swift movement, the teen shortened the distance between them and nuzzled his forehead against the German Shepherd, not caring whether the fake antlers would get tangled with his long hair.

“Thank you Askim,” Wild whispered out, eyes suspiciously shining as he stared into the canine’s eyes. “I am honored to call you my friend- no, my family, Askim.”

_ As I too, partner. _


End file.
